The Column's Secret
by Narlothin
Summary: Evelyn is under the care of the Pevensies and has been sent with them to the Prof.'s house. But she does not enter into Narnia through the wardrobe. What if the Prof. made a second piece from the Narnian tree? And why did Aslan tell him to make it?
1. The Blitz

Disclaimer- Chronicles of narnia is not mine. Please don't sue

Evelyn stretched her limbs languidly, blinking blearily through the sleep in her eyes. She had had that dream again, the one with golden lion, and— she strained to remember— it had been speaking to her. Well, that in its own was not strange, for she had often had dreams throughout her life of that same lion, and those same words, though when she awoke she was always hard-pressed to remember what exactly those words were. But this time it was different. The lion had told her...Aha! she thought excitedly, the lion had told her that he would be seeing her soon? No, that can't be right. For one, lions don't talk in real life. In dreams, yes, but in real life? That was preposterous, she scoffed to herself.

"You need to spend less time daydreaming" she murmured.

Evelyn glanced at her bedside table. 3:51 in the morning.

"Ugh! I don't have to be up for at least another 4 hours."

Well, that would have been true if she was still living back home in Harlow, a city about thirty minutes away from London. But she hadn't lived there for about a year now, thanks to Nazi Germany. Her parents were both in the service of the military, her mom, a field-nurse, and her pa, a pilot in the Royal Air Force, so she had been sent to live with some friends of the family in London, the Pevensies. But their father had also been sent off to war, so Mrs. Pevensie was left to take care of 17 year old Peter, 16 year old Evelyn, 14 year old Susan, 12 year old Edmund, and 8 year old Lucy alone. They all helped (well, Edmund less than the others) but even then it got tiring for Mrs. Pevensie. It was strange to think that she had been living with them a whole year already.

She had known the Pevensies since almost as long as she could remember. She and Peter had been introduced to each other by their parents on her first day of primary school, him being a year ahead of her, and they grew to be extremely close friends. He had become her protector, much to her 6 year old self's chagrin, when he had wheedled out of her where the random bruises all over her body had come from. She had had some trouble with the bullies in her class because she was so small, and an easy target for them. But that soon changed once Peter set them right with a few well placed punches. That had not made her happy at all. Not at all. She had insisted she could take care of herself, being the firebrand that she was, but her protestations fell onto deaf ears. And so he had been her self-appointed protector ever since that day, to the point of scaring away potential boyfriends when they had gotten older.

Even when she moved away from London, to Harlow, when she was 11, they had stayed that way, what, with all of the get togethers their parents would have and dinner parties, and shopping excursions that they were mutually dragged to. They had played "Quest for the Holy Grail" and "Slay the Evil Dragon, Rescue the Damsel in Distress" with Edmund added to the game when he got old enough to play, and she, to her vexation, being allotted most usually the role of Damsel in Distress. Even when they got old enough to put away such childish games such as that, Lucy had always demanded that they play with her, much to Evelyn's and Peter's dismay. Peter was her most trusted confidant, but also the only person who can upset her normally cool temper, though he is pretty much the only one who was not daunted by her potent temper once it was stirred.

Susan, on the other hand, was almost like a sister to her, and in her Evelyn found someone with whom she could giggle about boys, which if she did with Peter, would find said boy avoiding her like the plague the next day due to Peter's over protectiveness. They often had sleepovers and such, but when it came to the normal activities that were done, Evelyn absolutely refused to be made over ("If you would just curl your hair like _this..."_), though she would gladly give Susan one. Susan was always patient with her many mischievous antics and pranks, and managed to calm her down when she was angry with Peter. She was in short, the sister she had never had, even though she constantly was chasing after her to wear more fashionable clothes and the like. Despite their differences in personalities they would do anything for each other.

It was the same with Lucy and Edmund. She often caved into anything Lucy asked, swayed by the big blue eyes that blinked up at her innocently. And with Edmund she was in a constant state of worry over his apt to get himself into problems that had no way of letting go their easy prey, preferring for there to be a mighty struggle before he got free. Combine the two together and you could turn Evelyn into a blubbering toe rag, ready to give into anything and everything, and worrying over them both so much that that she turned her hair white prematurely. Edmund's strange surliness that had been showing its face as of late did nothing to help either. She was either trying to snap him out of one of his moods (though much gentler than Peter) or trying to keep him out of trouble, or both at the same time. Lucy and Edmund may have been a handful, but she loved them both like a brother or sister.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooWOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!!!!"

Evelyn was jolted out of her musings.

"An air raid!! Ugh, not again, why can't those dirty Germans go try to invade someone else. A couple months more of this and there won't _be_ a London to invade!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Come on, we need to get to the safe house!" Susan rushed, jumping out of bed and hurrying her to do the same.

Peter burst through the door of their room like the devil himself was after him.

"Hurry! do you want to stay in one piece or what?!"

"I'm going, I'm going, and yes I quite like my _one_ piece _thanksverymuch_" Evelyn shot back as she and Peter scampered through the house towards the door to the back door after Lucy, Susan, and their mother, Edmund behind them.

Swinging the door open and racing toward the bunker, Edmund turned back.

"Wait! Dad!" he cried, racing back the way they came.

"EDMUND!" Mrs. Pevensie screeched

"ED, NO! COME BACK!" shouted Evelyn

"I'll get him" Peter said in a resolute voice.

"Be careful!"

Peter sprinted back to the house.

"Oh Ed, why can't you obey for once?" Evelyn said despairingly as Mrs. Pevensie, Susan, Lucy and she sat huddling together on the bed for comfort.

Edmund went flying into the bunker, shoved by Peter in his anger and frustration for his little brother's disregard for his own life, but Edmund clutched his prize that he had risked his skin and that of his brother's for to his chest nonetheless.

"Why can't you think of anyone but yourself? You're so selfish! You could have got us killed!"

Peter slammed the door to the bomb shelter so hard it raddled on its hinges

"Peter! Don't be so, so, so ugh! You are so insensitive" Evelyn said standing and throwing her hands up in indignation for Peter's comments to Edmund.

"Stop it, both of you! It's okay" Mrs. Pevensie comforted Edmund, drawing him into her lap and making cooing noises to calm him.

"Why can't you just do as you're told!" shouted Peter, ignoring Evelyn's angry remark

"Stop yelling at him! It's not like you always do as _you're _told!"

"Yes, but at least I don't have a blatant disregard as he does!"

"Evelyn, Peter calm down. He's just scared what could have happened"

Peter was perhaps the only one who did not back down when Evelyn got angry, and right now, Susan was not the only one fed up with this yelling match.

"You are both to do extra chores around the house until you leave for the countryside. Now if I hear one more peep from either of you to each other tonight, unless it is kind, you will get a worse punishment than that. We are all tired and our nerves have been on end from the threat of the Germans, but can you both please just calm down?" Mrs. Pevensie said wearily.

Peter and Evelyn sat down as if in a daze. Go to the country? But that would mean leaving Mrs. Pevensie here, in danger, and without them to help her, while we would be safe in some little cottage, having a dandy time, Evelyn thought, horrified at the thought of leaving the woman who was almost like a second mother to her. Lucy beat her to voicing her thoughts.

"But, Mum, we can't leave you here all alone! And I'll be frightened of the dark if you are not there to read to me." Lucy said with tears in her eyes at the prospect, snatching up her mother's hand.

"Oh, honey, it will be alright, you'll see. Your brothers and sisters are more than able to chase away the monsters in the dark. Besides, you were brave enough to slay the evil dragon, so I'm sure a couple of little beasties won't be able to get the best of you. Oh, come here kids."

Mrs. Pevensie gathered them all to her.

"I'll be fine, you'll see. And I will feel much better if I knew you were all away safe and sound. Don't you worry about me."

"When do we have to leave?" inquired Susan, resigned to the plan.

"In exactly two days. The train leaves at 8 o'clock."

"Please mother? Please can we stay with you?" asked Edmund, not ready to concede so easily.

"I'm sorry, son, but it's not safe for you in London anymore. You children will have to leave. I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but I'm not sorry that you will be safe."

It was settled. They would go to a stranger's house, stay until the bombings stopped, and Hitler gave up, or until he succeeded in his invasion and they all became prisoners of Nazi Germany. Either way it looked as if it would not be a pleasant next few months. But they wouldn't know until they got there. Who knew? Maybe they would encounter an adventure while they were there.

But they had no way of knowing how true that _one_ maybe was.

Review please! this is my first fanfiction so tell me what you think


	2. Train Ride through the Countryside

Disclaimer: C. S. Lewis owns all that is Narnia. But Evelyn is mine XD

In this chapter you actually get a description of what she looks like YAY!!

The last chapter was officially crap, but thank you to the reviewers who didn't think so ;) I'm, gonna try to do better this time.

_italics thoughts_

Mrs. Pevensie kept getting smaller and smaller as the train left the station, but that didn't stop her from waving frantically to the kids she loved so much. Evelyn Leonard- Jamieson brought her arm back into the compartment, shut the window and sighed. _Well, there's no turning back now._ She remembered the goodbyes with a little pang and looked at Lucy. _Poor kid._ She and Peter had had to hold Lucy's hands and coax her to get onto the train.

flashback

"Attention Children and evacuation staff... Attention, would all parents ensure that their children have the appropriate identification papers" blared the loudspeaker, giving out instructions for the mothers and fathers who were sending their children away to the country with broken hearts, not knowing if they would die without seeing their kids one last time, wondering if they would get to see their children grow up, for even if the war lasted only two years, they would miss a preteen's transition into a teenager or other such important events in a young person's life.

Lucy turned to her mother with a sad little face, tugging at the ticket attached to her little coat.

"You need to keep this on, darling. All right? You warm enough? Good girl" comforted Mrs. Pevensie, reluctant to make the final goodbyes.

Evelyn noticed Peter looking wistfully at the young men dressed in their sharp military uniforms and sighed. She knew that he had been counting on joining them in a year, when he would be old enough, and now he would have no chance to in the English countryside where they were to be staying. Not that she was complaining. She would rather have him where he could be near to her, not in some foreign country in danger of being killed by a stray bullet...or a not so stray. But it had always been his dream to join the Royal Navy, ever since she had known him, wanting to follow after his grandfather, as his father was in the Royal Air Force. She looked at Peter. _I don't know what I would do if I lost you. You are my rock _she thought desperately. Evelyn tried to imagine life without Peter. There would be no more of his goodhearted teasing, no more of his smiles that made her feel strangely faint, no more of his comforting presence, or his cute disgruntled moods when she beat him in football (soccer, chaps, soccer) _yet_ _again. No, of course his smiles don't make me weak at the knees and no, I don't think it's cute when he's disgruntled. Course not. Right. His disgruntledness makes me annoyed, and his smiles are nothing special. Stop kidding yourself, _hissed her subconscious, _his smiles make you positively drool all over yourself, and his disgruntledness makes you want to jump on the boy and rain kisses all over his face until his mood goes away. No it does not! _growled Evelyn back_, you just have a strange asphyxiation with him, _I _do not. And I'm not schitzo either so go way you little bugger. _Silience. _Good._

Still, she wouldn't be able to function normally with Peter off to war, or worse, dead. It made her shudder to even think about it. She was shaken out of her reverie with Edmund's surly comment of "If Dad were here, he wouldn't make us go."

"If Dad were here, it'd mean the war was over and we wouldn't have to go" spat back Peter, fed up with his brother's complaints. Evelyn wholeheartedly understood his irritation at this point.

"You will listen to you brother, won't you Edmund?" Mrs. Pevensie asked Edmund worriedly, "Promise me you'll look after the others" she directed at Peter.

"I will, Mum"

"Good man."

"All aboard, All aboard!" shouted the supervisors of the boarding of the train.

"All right, off you go" said Mrs. Pevensie.

"Mummy!" Lucy enveloped her mother in a hug, not willing to leave.

"Oh, darling, be brave for me. Can you do that?"

Lucy nodded uncertainly.

"That's my little trooper."

"May I have your tickets please? Tickets, please" said the supervisor again, trying to get Peter's attention.

"Peter, pay attention!" Susan hissed, snatching his tickets and handing them to the lady.

"That's right, on you go."

"Yes, thank you."

" Come on Lu, it's time to get on the train. The train ride will be fun, you'll see. You can see the pretty countryside if you get a good seat in the compartment. So whatd'ya say? Want to go and get a good seat?" Evelyn asked, holding her little hand and trying to distract her from the fact that she was leaving her mummy for the first time.

"Come on Lucy, we've got to stick together now. Everything's gonna be all

right. It's gonna be fine... it's gonna be fine." Peter said as if trying to reassure himself, grabbing her other hand and smiling at Evelyn as she cast him a grateful glance over Lucy's brown little head. _That smile_ squealed her subconscious, refusing to be silenced. _Oh shut it, you._

They got Lucy to board the train and they all found a compartment through which they could say goodbye to Mrs. Pevensie, calling out that they would write, that they loved her, and that they would miss her terribly.

end flashback

She turned her ocean blue eyes to the inside of the compartment and to her friends.

"Do you think Mum will be okay without us?"

"Don't worry Su, I'm sure she'll be fine. She did fine before we were even born, so I'm sure she'll be fine now" Peter reassured.

Evelyn stood up suddenly.

"Pete can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Sure Evie."

They walked out of the compartment and into an empty one. Evelyn plopped down on the seat with a _whoosh _coming from the fabric of the seat from the sudden weight. Peter sat down beside her and faced her with concerned eyes.

"What's up? Is there something wrong?" he asked, his mind instantly envisioning her suddenly getting a letter that her parents had been killed in a battle, or telling him that she had contracted a deadly disease like malaria or tuberculosis or... _Paranoid. You're just paranoid _he told himself firmly.

Evelyn took a deep breath.

"It's nothing like that" she assured him. "I just want to say that I'm sorry for yelling at you the other night. I know you're just upset about your dad leaving and it wasn't fair of me to say those things. Though, I'm pretty sure that the sound of bombs dropping all around us didn't help the stress either" she said wryly.

"Oh, Evie, you know I've already forgiven you. I could never stay mad at you for long. After all, if I was mad at you all the time I wouldn't be able to tease you about the time when you decided that you wanted to be a mud monster when you grew up, and after it had rained you jumped in the mud and got yourself covered in the stuff" he chuckled "You came in the house sopping wet, covered from head to toe in mud, and both of our mums screamed like banshees, asking you what in the world you had been thinking."

"Ugh, come on, when will you let that go? I was only 6 and if I remember _correctly, _it was you who told me that a mud monster was just the thing to be, and said that if I was a mud monster I could make mud pies out of myself" she whined, but with a ridiculous grin on her face as she remembered the incident, swatting at Peter's shoulder.

"Hmmm, yes but you were the one who believed me" he replied catching her small hand in his larger one and holding it captive. She pinched the inside of his palm.

"Ouch! So, you want to play like that, do you?" he said mischievously.

Evelyn squeaked and tried to dive to the other side of the compartment, but he caught her waist, hauled her back to him and pinned her down, tickling her mercilessly.

"Oo, Oo, Ssstooop!" she gasped between giggles.

"But you wounded me, fair lady! Now you have to pay for it! If you say you're sorry and won't ever do it again then I may be able to forgive you and I'll stop."

"Never! And I'm not a fair lady, I'm a knight, you knave" she choked out indignantly.

"Well then, I guess I shall have to punish you more!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry and I'll never do it again!"

"See, now that wasn't so hard" Peter said smugly. But inside he was not so smug. She was doing funny things to his gut, causing it to flip-flop and all of the blood rush to his lower regions. The sight of Evelyn laying there with her cheeks flushed and her hair awry made him think of _other _activities that might make her cheeks flushed and her hair mussed from his fingers entwining into it... _What are you thinking! This is Evelyn! She only thinks of you as a friend, so don't ruin it, you stupid git! _This was perhaps only the second time that this had happened to him with Evelyn as the object, and he had ignored it, hoping it would go away, but it seemed as if it refused to. He felt himself become flushed. _Think of the kings of England. Henry I, then Stephen, then Henry II, then Richard I ..._ Peter jumped up off of the seat as if scalded. Evelyn peered up at him, sitting up slowly.

"Are you alright?"

"Ahem, yes fine, I'm fine"

"Okaaay..."

Peter sat back down slowly.

"Oh! I wanted to talk to you about something else, but you cruelly interrupted with that torture. I had a strange dream last night. I had the same one the night of the last air raid and again last night."

Peter looked up thoughtfully, jumping for a chance to distract himself from these feelings that he did not normally associate with Evie, all former discomfort momentarily forgotten.

"What was the dream about?"

"Well it always starts off the same; I'm in a forest covered with snow, as if there had just been a blizzard and I walk along slowly, but not really paying attention, as if I know where I am going. I come to the mouth of a huge cave, and inside of it is a great lion, with golden velvet paws, and a light tawny mane and coat. But I'm not afraid. I never am when I meet Him."

"Wait, you mean you've met him before these two dreams?" Peter interrupted.

"Well—yes" she said sheepishly. "I've been having dreams about Him since before I can remember. But these two dreams were different. Usually, He talks to me and I forget what was said the next morning, but these past two times I remembered. He said 'I will see you soon, come quickly, my dear.' What is that supposed to mean? For one lions aren't supposed to talk, and second, how am I supposed to go somewhere that I don't even know the location of?"

"You mean you've been having recurring dreams of a lion since you were little and you never told me?!?"

"Yes" jabbed Evelyn back in annoyance. "But only because before, there was no reason to tell you. So what? I have dreams of lions. I know people who dream once ever couple of months that they can fly. It's not _that_ strange. But now He says He's going to be seeing me and I can't help but wonder if that may be true."

"Well, a dream is just a dream right? I mean it's not like He's going to sneak into your room in the middle of the night and Bob's your uncle, kidnap you just like that is He? I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't think about it anymore."

"Weeeell...alright. I hope you're right."

She sighed and fiddled with her hands in her lap. Peter took one and squeezed it reasuringly.

"Hey, it'll be alright. If you have another dream and wake up and need someone to talk to, just come and wake me up and we'll talk about it. Or I could distract you with something if you need."

_I can think of some things I could distract you with. _Peter squashed the traitorous thought down and mentally scowled at his subconscience for saying it. Hey, you had to cut him some slack, he was a seventeen year old boy and at least he wasn't purposely thinking about these things.

"Thanks Peter, I'm sure that will help. But enough of this serious subject, there has been way too many of them lately. Let's go back into the compartment with the others, as I'm sure they've been wondering where we've gotten to. Maybe we can find a game to play to drag everyone out of their melancholy."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Lead the way...Milady"

"Ohhh, you, you, ugh! You had better watch out Pete or you may find this 'Lady's' foot up your arse" she teased with a posh accent, flicking her chestnut hair over her shoulder in mock arrogance, strutting out of the compartment door with her small, pert nose up in the air.

"Are you threatening your loyal knight, Fair Lady? That is very untoward of you" said Peter in a mock indignant tone, following her out of the compartment.

"If you were loyal, you would be flattering me and picking flowers for me, not making me annoyed with you, you stupid git."

"Ah, here we are, Milady. Here is your royal train compartment and_ try_ not to trip on the nonexistent bump in the floor" he teased, ignoring her comment, opening the door with a flourish.

There came cries of "Where have you been?" and "We've been waiting for half an hour!" from the three occupants of the compartment. Evelyn and Peter stepped inside sheepishly and closed the compartment door behind them and sitting down.

"Sorry, we lost track of the time while we were talking."

"More like they were making eyes at each other" spat Edmund rudely.

"_No, actually _ Peter was just helping me with a problem I had lately."

"Well, whatever it was can we settle it later and _please_ get some lunch from the Deli car? I'm starving" exclaimed Susan, getting up and smoothing down her skirt.

"Yeah, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse! Or even an elephant!" agreed Lucy, rubbing her stomach in hunger.

"Okay, let's go. When we get back do you all want to play a game? This train ride is boring enough and we still have about three more hours until we get to our stop" said Peter, leading the way down the hall toward the Deli car.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After lunch, they were all feeling a bit more friendly from having full bellies and they decided they would play a game called "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" tomake the train ride more interesting. They passed the time in ways such as this, changing games when the one they had been playing got boring, and distracting each other from their troubled thoughts. For the first time in a long time, Ed was not in one of his moods, Lucy's mind was off leaving her mother, and Susan was happily joining in their games instead of sitting off to the side and watching. But Peter and Evelyn found it harder to concentrate that the others did, both occupied with thoughts of dreams of being in the Royal Navy and a different kind of dream of a certain lion respectively. But besides that they were perfectly content and allowed themselves to hope that perhaps their future wouldn't be so bleak after all, so long as they had each other. And I, as one who knows what will happen, am happy to assure them that they were right. At least after the initial life- endangering events.

MWAHAHAHAHA...you thought they would be happy immediately didn't you? Well sorry but they gotta go through some stuff first :D but they'll be happy in the end I promise.

you know the drill review pleeeeeeaseeeeeeee!

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	3. The Professor's Mansion

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is from C. S. Lewis' books. But Evie is mine.

_italics thoughts_

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo _

The Victorian style mansion loomed ominously ahead of them, its great east and west wings spreading out from the main entrance of the structure like the expansive wings of an albatross, a bird known for its record- breaking wing span. What secrets could an edifice such as that be hiding? Secret passage ways that had once housed rebels to the Crown? Hidden rooms with rare and expensive medieval weapons, or paintings by renowned painters such as Botticelli, Raphael, or Durer? Evelyn could see a greenhouse tucked next to the end of the west wing, a wide expanse of carefully cultivated gardens right next to the greenhouse to accomodate the less tricky plants that did not require the exact temperature that the greenhouse provided. The next thing she saw just about took her breath away. As they came closer to the house and the carriage drove out of the small outcropping of trees leading up to the house, a perfectly clichéd version of English countryside hit her eyes with the gentleness of a cool breeze against a face on a balmy summer's day. The gently rolling hills that the house was situated among were filled with lush, green fauna, with small white and lavender clumps where wild flowers were growing, a perfect nesting for hungry little insects. A small rivulet ran meandering along, like a happy drunk stumbling through the street, unable to walk in a straight line. It bubbled merrily, almost musically, its water lapping gently around the curves in its path like a lover caressing his woman. It was, in short, positively the most intimidating place that Evelyn had seen in her mere sixteen years. And she could _not wait _to go exploring the towering structure in looming in front of her, and then afterwards, perhaps, take a stroll on the green knolls, and probably not be able to resist rolling down them like a barrel that has escaped out of its owner's hands.

"It's so _big_!"

"It will certainly have no problem of holding all of us, Lu" replied Peter, hitching his jaw up from where his and the rest's had fallen to the floor of the carriage when they had gotten their first look of the house.

"I expect you children to be on your best behavior while you are here, as the Professor is not accustomed to having children around" said Mrs. Macready, "I will tell you the rest of the rules when we get to the house."

"You mean he lives here all be hisself?"

Mrs. Macready frowned dissaprovingly and muttered "For god's sake what do they teach kids in school these days?" and said in a louder tone to Edmund, "_Himself,_ all by _himself_. And yes, he lives here by himself, except for us servants and the frequent visits by his good friends."

"No wonder he wanted some kids around. He must be awfully lonesome" said Lucy knowingly, as if she had just found out his secret.

"I am quite sure that his reasons are his own, and it is not your place to be asking about them, young lady"

"Will we be able to play outside? Or go walking around on the property?"

Peter sniggered at Evelyn's still slightly dreamy expression. He knew that she had always been unable to resist tromping around outside, a fact which he knew Susan disapproved of sternly. But it was a fact he was happy of, glad to know at least one girl who was not perturbed about getting messy. In, fact, she seemed to quite enjoy running around outside, staying out of doors for hours on end, especially if it was an open space, just feeling the wind through her hair._ Yes, she is most definitely an outdoors kind of person. And that is an understatement, _he chuckled silently.

"As long as you don't mess up the gardens" said Mrs. Macready suspiciously, as if wondering what mischief this newcomer might possibly be brewing on her precious flowers.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hmm" she clucked disapprovingly, "Quite."

_Oh my dear Lord, I've died and gone to heaven! _She thought dazedly still staring in awe at her surroundings. _If I had a choice of where to live, this would be exactly my decision. But I wouldn't be able to live alone like this professor does. I wonder what sort of man he is. Is he strict and stern like his house keeper, or is he the paternal, grandfatherly sort of Oxford professor? The kind who wears matching tweed suits and hats, with his glasses perched on the end of his nose, always ready to tell you a story and who reads in his library next to a fire in the evening. Oh, I do hope he is no strictt like Mrs. Macready._

The carriage pulled to a stop by a tug on the ribbons controlling the horses. Evelyn jumped excitedly out of the cart, followed closely by Lucy, who almost equaled her in enthusiasm for this new place. Then Susan jumped down with more dignity trailed by Peter and Edmund. The group walked up to the great double doors where Mrs. Macready took out her keys, and inserted one brass, old-fashioned key into the ancient keyhole. As she pushed it open in creaked as if the hinges had not been oiled in some time.

" They really must fix that. Visitors will think they are coming into a beastly haunted house" mumbled Mrs. Macready in aggravation.

"Well, here we are. This here is the entrance hall. If you lose your way, try to find this place and you can access any part of the estate that you might want to visit. Just don't go looking for any place you are not supposed to be" she warned, giving them a suddenly stern look.

"As I said previously, the Professor is not accustomed to having children in the house and as such I expect a few rules to be followed."

She led them through a door on the right and up a set of stairs. "There shall be no shouting, and certainly no running. No any improper use whatsoever of the dumbwaiter, NO touching of the historical artifacts!" This she barked at Susan who had been about to touch a bust of a historical person. "And above all, there is to be _no_ disturbing of the Professor."

"You mean we can't meet the person in whose house we are staying in? Isn't it a little rude not to even thank him for letting us stay?" asked Susan incredulously, but all of the other children knew that she was trying to appeal to Mrs. Macready's loathing of anything rude or impolite. They all grinned at each other victoriously as Susan bested the martinet housekeeper.

Mrs. Macready floundered for an explanation. "Young lady! It is not your place to question your elders."

"I think that's her excuse for everything" whispered Evelyn to Peter who nodded with a role of his eyes and a chuckle.

Mrs. Macready gave her a withering look and Evelyn had the grace to look sheepish. The housekeeper took them through doors, down endless hallways, down another set of stairs, through yet another hallway, and up a set of stairs, and made so many twists and turns that after a while Evelyn was completely and hopelessly lost. _Okay. I can do this. To get back to the entrance hall just take a left, 2 rights, one more left, down some stairs, a left, through a door, a right...wait that's not right its a left. Right? No, left. No, I mean right. No left. No—Oh I dunno! This is absolute bollocks. How are we ever to find our way to dinner or even to the loo?_

"Right this way please. Your rooms are right down this hallway. The girls will sleep in the door on the right, and you boys will be on the left in that door a little ways down. Dinner is served at 7:00 sharp and if you are late you will have to go without as the cooks can't be troubled into fixing you up an additional plate if you refused to show up on time for the regular meal. Tonight I will send up a maid to take you to the Dining Room where you will be served, but after that you are on your own. But if you do get hopelessly lost, as you are bound to do, then there is a bell pull in about every major room and a servant will come and help you find your way back. But if I find you have been pulling at it for a bit of fun then you shall find yourself scrubbing the kitchen floors and washing the dishes for as long as I want you to, in addition to a few more things that you will be punished with. If you fancy a snack, but find that it is not mealtime, then find your way to the kitchen and if the cooks are generous you may find a snack."

Once they had absorbed the slew of instructions they all raced to their respective rooms.

"It's not really fair that they get to have a room all to their selves and we have to cram three of us into this room. Girls need more room anyway."

"Seriously. But at least it's not too cramped. We all even have our own set of drawers. And look, the beds are even comfortable." Evelyn sank down onto her plush four-poster bed and lay down, testing it out. "_Really_ comfortable actually."

She ran her fingers over the soft down comforter. It actually wasn't that bad. It was quite a lovely room as a matter of fact. She could see herself curled up with a book her on her bed if she ever fancied reading one. The room was of a large size with three four-poster beds in complimenting places around the room. Their down feather comforters matched the purple color scheme of the room except instead of just a straight up solid color of purple there was a swirling of silver thread entwined into the pattern of leafy fronds and fleur de lis with lilies. The four poster frame was of a dark chocolate kind of wood that matched the three sets of drawers and bedside tables in the room. There was a glossy wood floor of the same grain and color as the furniture with tasteful thick purple carpets in the appropriate places. There were plain white walls but with a border around the ceiling that had purple fleur de lis and lilies in a pattern that matched the comforters exactly. There were rich dark purple curtains over the two large windows that promised to have a gorgeous view. Evelyn took a peek. Yep, there was a view, understatement of the century. Evelyn noticed two double doors on the right side of their room and stepped inside of them with Lucy and Susan peeking around her curiously. Inside was a bathroom with all of the amenities that they might need. It was not overly large, but it was not so small that they would have to elbow each other to get a little space. A bath tub with a rim of opaque shower curtains draping down from above it if one wished to take a shower stood in the corner next to the toilet. Above a sink with silver fixtures was a mirror about one meter wide that had a gilded frame of silver engraved with filigree scrolling around it in the shape of -big surprise- fleur de lis and lilies.

"This room reminds me of a fairy princess' room!" said Lucy delighted.

"I think I may have to take back my first impression of this gorgeous room." said Susan in awe of the detail of the fabric and the engravings and...well, just about everything.

Evelyn laughed delightedly. "Oh, this will be such fun! Just think of it! Gothic style house with a mysterious host—the only thing that is missing is a murder to solve or a ghost that haunts the other wing!"

Chuckling knowingly, Susan squashed Evelyn's imaginations "Now don't be letting your imagination go running wild. Either of you. This is a perfectly normal house. It's only a bit older and bigger than some of the others we've seen."

"Oh, Su, you're such a spoilsport. There might be something magical here! You never know" protested Lucy, disgruntled at her sister ruining her picture of princesses and dragons and swords and knights and princes. Good thing she had not really been paying attention to Evelyn's own imaginings for she would have had nightmares for at least a week.

"We need to unpack. I don't fancy living out of a trunk for however long we're to be here."

"Alright. But after that, can we get the boys and go exploring or do _something _fun? I'm so knackered of sitting after that train ride. We left at, what, eight in the morning? And it's now about 4 o'clock? That's 7 hours on that bloody train. I want to _do _something."

"Evelyn! Don't swear!" Susan said with a pointed glance to Lucy. Evelyn winced. She had forgotten about not swearing in front of Lucy. "And yes, I'd like that too but it's more practical to do it now and not before we go to bed when we are all tired and grumpy, so we'll have some fun _after_ we unpack."

"You're right. Ugh, I do so hate it when you are right. Even though you are all the time" she said with a grin.

"Well if we're gonna unpack can we get started already instead of standing here?" giggled Lucy.

"You got it, Lu. I call the bed next to the window! Sorry, you know how much of a sucker I am for views" Evelyn said apologetically.

Lucy and Susan laughed. "Yes, we know, that's why we didn't take that one for one of our own."

"Oh. Well, cheers!"

After several curses about trunks that wouldn't open (from Evelyn), strewn clothes (again, Evelyn), calm remarks (from Susan), and giggles at Evelyn's antics (from Lucy) later, their drawers were finally filled and their trunks were blessedly empty. They took a collective sigh in relief, and trudged out of their rooms to Peter and Edmund's, where they assumed they had just been doing the same. Imagine their surprise and envy when they found that instead of unpacking like they had been doing, they were both fast asleep on their beds, too pooped out from the trip here to do anything else. _Typical. Ugh, boys._ Evelyn shook her head hopelessly. _Well, at least _some_ of us got to do something they wanted to._

"Well, there's no use trying to wake them up. We might as well go do the same. Besides, I'm beat."

"Oh, yes please. A nap sounds wonderful right now."

"You two go ahead. I'm not really that tired. I think I'm going to go find the library in this maze of a house and see if there isn't anything I can find to read. I'll come back to the room when it's almost time for supper."

"Ok, Evie. We'll see you when it's almost suppertime then."

"K, see you later."

Evelyn walked out of the boy's room after Lucy and Susan but turned to go down the hall the opposite direction from their room. She wandered aimlessly around until she found one of the rooms that Mrs. Macready mention that had the bell pull. She gave it a hearty tug but did not hear the slight tinkling she had been expecting. _Well, maybe since they haven't had guests in the house for so long they haven't bothered to keep the bell pulls useable shape. In that case, I guess I'm on my own in finding the library, unless I can find a servant or maid to ask for directions._ She mentally groaned, not looking forward to just walking around without a destination. _Well, I could make my way back to the entrance hall, but I don't think I could find my way._ She began to just leave the room when a maid came almost bowling her over from around the next corner. The maid hastily straightened her skirt and apron and brushed her dirty blonde hair out of her face. She was not much older than Evelyn, maybe only 21 at the most, and had a pretty, kind face and inviting smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I heard the bell pull from it's receiver in the kitchen and I was hurrying as fast as I could to where it had been rang. I suppose that was you?"

"Yes, that was me, sorry. I was wondering where the library was. All of my friends decided to take a nap and since I wasn't tired I decided to find a book to read. Could you, perhaps, if it's not too much trouble, show me to the library?" explained Evelyn shyly.

"Well, as I'm already here it would be even more trouble to go all the way back to the kitchen after coming here for no reason. But, yes I would be happy to show you to our library."

"Oh, thank you, and once again I'm sorry for interrupting your work."

"It's not a problem, kid. As there is only the Professor and this big empty house there is not much work to be done except dustin' and even then the Professor doesn't like for us to dust the rare artifacts so much, because if they are dusted to often, they might be ruined. Oh, and by the way you can call me Mandie."

Mandie led her back to the entrance hall, which seemed to Evelyn in a much quicker route the Mrs. Macready did, and took her down the lengthy halls and stairways to the library.

"As you may know, our library here houses some of the most well known folios and manuscripts on history in England. I must ask you to use gloves if you handle them and to put them back just the way that they were when you're done. You should find the books categorized rather obviously, but if you need any help finding something then there is a bell pull over there in the corner whose end is in the librarian's study. If you need more help than that then the librarian will find the Professor, but I ask that you only request for him if there is an emergency." Mandie said the entire bit about the folios and manuscripts with obvious pride and absolutely delighted in the look of awe that was on Evelyn's face.

"This is huge! Thank you _so _much, Mandie."

The library was the perfect model for any mansion. The room was a circular shape, but much bigger than you would think an elliptical room would be. There were large, floor-to-ceiling windows framed by scarlet drapes and small little window seats tucked into niches around the room with scarlet and gold patterned cushions. It had the customary caramel colored, oak wood paneling, scarlet carpeting, and, most importantly, was filled to the ceiling with shelves and shelves of books. Where the shelves were highest, there was a ladder attached to a gold rim along the ceiling so that you could climb up and reach a book at any place in the whole library, thanks to the curved shape of the room, which probably had that convenience in mind when it was built. On the ceiling, which was rather high up, there were map designs in cream and brown, with each country and body of water included, most likely a play on the circular room being like a globe. It was artistically but tastefully painted, not frivolous looking at all. On the oak paneled walls at certain intervals there were oil lamps with scarlet lampshades that winked merrily out of the corner of your eye. At the far end of the library, there was a painting of what looked like the landscape of this very mansion, but with a few exceptions. The trees were not so tall and in the distance, the mansion did not yet have an additional west wing. It must have been painted some number of years before.

Evelyn happily ambled up to the nearest shelf, and scanned the book. _The Cell's Growth and Its Uses, Planetary orbit, Genetics...ugh, this must be the science section. I hate science. It takes the mystery out of everything. Hmmmm, where's the fiction? Or even history?_ She wandered a little further down the shelf, scanning titles, and began to see some that looked promising. _Hmm Jane Austen, no she has _way_ to happy endings and no action. Charles Dickens? no. Shakespeare? no, not in the mood for sonnets or reading script from a play. Alexander Dumas? oooh, he's perfect, a little bit of action, a little romance. I think I'll read The Count of Monte Cristo._

She skipped happily to one of the window seats tucked out of the way, curled up and prepared for a nice long, peaceful afternoon of a riveting novel.

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The sun had long since set on the picturesque English countryside. But what the light had rendered beautiful and majestic now seemed haunting and ominous in the dark. Inside the mansion of a lone man, a Professor, there was an uncharacteristic disturbance. Three of the five children he had taken on seemed to think that their younger sister was going crazy, making up strange lands in her head as they were playing hide and seek, and the fifth child was no where to be found. Not to say that the fifth, a teenage girl, had disappeared. No, the maid he had questioned told him that she had left the child in the library, and after he had looked in said room, he had found the girl curled up on a window seat with the drapes closed in around her, so as to prevent discovery, fast asleep. He had left her there for the night and allayed the other children's fears and told them that she had fallen asleep in the library, where it was best to leave her for the time being. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. The youngest child! She had entered into Narnia through the wardrobe! Was this the child Aslan spoke of? He somehow did not think so. But who else could it be? Certainly not the others. But even so, he would keep a watchful eye on them all for the Special One. But what about the other piece he had made from the wood of the Narnian tree, the one which was not a piece of furniture, but a part of a room? What part did it play in all of this? As of yet, he had not gotten the feeling that Aslan said he would. Aslan said he would just _know._ And he didn't. Know that is, at least not yet. Well, that was damned irritating, that's what it was. Was there anything more ambiguous than that that Aslan could have possibly said? _Damned bloody irritating, that is,_ he thought again. Ah, well he would just have to play it by ear and hope that he would _know_ soon. _I wish that Polly were here to help me figure this bloody thing out. But she's on the continent right now visiting some monasteries. What the devil is that woman doing visiting monasteries anyway?_ he grumbled to himself.

Aslan would be waiting too, waiting for the one he had waited for since _she_ died and since _she_ went away. Just, waiting.

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YAY another chapter finished. Sorry this one took so long but I won't be able to update as often as I like over the week days b/c of school. So who is the Special One? Hehe I know I'm evil. Just to clear up any confusion, yes, Lucy has already been into the wardrobe. The other children woke up while Evelyn was in the library and played hide and seek before dinner. After that while they went to bed, Lucy entered it again with Edmund. So yes, Evelyn has missed allot this excitement. But there's a reason...I didn't want her to know where she was at all when she went there herself, and since she was asleep...she won't know what to think when she gets to Narnia cause she'd have never heard of anything like that before. Anyway hope that clears some stuff up. Tell me what you think! I think this is my best chapter so far :D

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review please...push the button...you can do it!


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